Air Force Successfully Tests Redesigned AMRAAM AIM-120D3

Air Force Successfully Tests Redesigned AMRAAM AIM-120D3

The Air Force successfully tested its redesigned Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) Form, Fit, Function Refresh (F3R), firing the AIM-120D3 missile June 30 from an F-15E Strike Eagle at a target over the Gulf of Mexico near the Florida coast.

The first of five live-fire tests, it assessed a full hardware system redesign of early 2000s technology components in the Raytheon missile.

“The core objective of this test was to execute a long range shot that physically stressed the new missile hardware,” Maj. Heath Honaker, the 28th Test and Evaluation Squadron’s director of engineering and advanced programs, said in a statement provided to Air Force Magazine.

“Successful execution proves the redesigned hardware and software are progressing as expected and puts us one step closer to fielding a reliable, sustainable air-to-air capability to the warfighter,” Honaker added.

The $125 million F3R program began in December 2021 and included new software and missile guidance systems tailored to rapidly evolving threats, Raytheon officials said at the time of the award’s announcement.

The Air Force and members of the defense industry were involved in the lead-up to the test that took place in the Eglin Gulf Test Range against a QF-16 drone.

The 53rd Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., provided supporting entities such as the 28th TES, which designed, planned, and executed the test; and the 85th TES, which provided the aircraft and pilots. The 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group out of Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., provided the QF-16 drone; the 96th Range Group at Eglin provided data collection support and range infrastructure; and the 96th Test Wing safety office monitored live fire munitions of the Raytheon product.

The AIM-120D reached initial operational capability for the Air Force and Navy in 2015 as an active radar-guided intercept missile with GPS-aided navigation and electronic protection capabilities.

Honaker said F3R will enable “high-confidence AIM-120D production” for the remainder of the missile lifecycle.

Raytheon engineers used model-based systems engineering and other digital technologies to upgrade multiple circuit cards and hardware in the guidance section of the missile.

“F3R upgrades multiple circuit cards to address obsolescence, enhances the weapon’s capabilities, and extends the production line for the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy, and our Allied partners,” Paul Ferraro, president of Air Power at Raytheon Missiles & Defense, said in a statement.

The live fire of the AIM-120D3 is the first of five planned missile shots to qualify the new missile for production and fielding.

African Coups Give China and Russia an Edge in Restive Sahel

African Coups Give China and Russia an Edge in Restive Sahel

Service members working to fight terrorist groups expanding in Africa have their hands tied by restrictions on security cooperation with military-led countries, giving China and Russia an edge, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Africa Chidi Blyden told senators July 12.

The restive Sahel region of Africa consists of five vast, sub-Saharan nations plagued by terrorist groups that have helped unseat democracies and welcomed America’s strategic competitors. Three of the five nations—Mali, Burkina Faso, and Chad—have undergone coups in the past two years. The coups trigger a State Department restriction on security cooperation and leave the Defense Department with just one main partner in the region, Niger, which is home to the heavily fortified Air Base 101 and Air Base 201, which are used for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance of terrorist groups.

“Russia and the [People’s Republic of China] routinely provide training and defense articles to African nations,” Blyden told a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on insecurity in the Sahel.

“While our African partners have stated repeatedly that they prefer our training and defense articles, they turn to our competitors when we are not responsive to their requests,” she added. “Ending our U.S. security cooperation has affected our bilateral engagement.”

Blyden called for finding a way to continue engaging with the Sahel nations so that access and influence are not lost to America’s competitors, but senators sought to further restrict opportunities for cooperation.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) urged the State Department to impose travel sanctions on foreign government officials who were involved in the coups. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), meanwhile, introduced legislation to further expand the vetting of foreign military officers before they are allowed to participate in U.S. training programs.

Robert Jenkins, assistant administrator of the Bureau for Conflict Prevention and Stabilization at the U.S. Agency for International Development, painted a picture of what a loss of American influence looks like in the Sahel.

“It’s a region where we’ve seen young people dancing in support of military takeovers, waving Russian flags, and repeating the disinformation that targets them relentlessly,” he said, describing scenes from Mali’s May 17, 2022, coup.

The suspension of U.S. assistance to Mali, coupled with the withdrawal of French counter-terrorist forces, led Mali’s ruling junta to invite the Russian mercenary Wagner Group, implicated in many civilian deaths in Ukraine, to help provide security.

Blyden said DOD is working closely with France on the withdrawal of its 2,400 troops to Niger, where the U.S. maintains some 800 troops conducting ISR on terrorist groups; building partner capacity; and working to counter China and Russia’s influence.

The shrinking U.S. and French foothold in the Sahel means the United States may start to reposition forces in other African countries, especially littoral states that are now threatened by the expansion of terrorist groups.

“Our operations and the support that we provide will continue in a way, but it will be spread more widely,” said Blyden.

“We see the spread moving towards the coastal West Africa countries,” she said, referring to the more prosperous nations on Africa’s west coast. “We’re seeing an opportunity with the French repositioning to really rethink where it is that we might need bolstering of African partners to be able to continue to counter the violent extremist threat.”

Mauritania is one nation that straddles both the Sahel and littoral regions that may benefit from a deeper partnership, the defense official said.

Blyden said that despite the restriction on security cooperation, the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act authorizes money to counter Russia and China on the continent, and DOD is looking at programs to counter China and the Wagner Group’s influence.

“We have to recognize that there is a great powers competition going on,” said Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), calling on DOD to find ways to do more. “Russia and China are both very actively engaged on the African continent, and they are also very actively engaged within the Sahel.”

U.S. Air Forces Africa and U.S. Africa Command did not respond to requests by Air Force Magazine for comment. The Pentagon did not immediately provide further details on the security threat and challenges faced.

The Senate Armed Services Committee will host a confirmation hearing July 21 for Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Michael Langley for promotion to general and to be commander of U.S. Africa Command, the senior military official responsible for engaging with nations in the region.

NATO’s New Air Commander Prepares for New Phase of Vigilance Along Eastern Front

NATO’s New Air Commander Prepares for New Phase of Vigilance Along Eastern Front

FAIRFORD, U.K.—Two weeks into his job as the commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa and NATO Allied Air Command, Gen. James B. Hecker has gotten a running start on one of his top priorities—building partnerships.

On the sidelines of the Royal International Air Tattoo from July 15 to 17, Hecker met with air chiefs from dozens of other countries to introduce himself and start building relationships.

“We had, I think it was 67 air chiefs here from all different countries that were here over the last three days,” Hecker told Air Force Magazine in an exclusive interview at RIAT. “And I have had several meetings … with air chiefs from other countries, particularly from the NATO countries, and got to know them—which would have taken me six to seven months to do that just flying around to different countries—so this has really helped me.”

One of the major topics of those discussions, Hecker said, was Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and fears of further aggression. The developments of the past several months have created an “urgency,” he said, especially among countries bordering Russia.

Like Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, Hecker has emphasized his experience of intensely focusing on Russia during the Cold War as something the Air Force—USAFE in particular—will have to get back to. In doing so, he said at RIAT, he hopes to show Russia that further aggression is “not worth it.”

“We want to make sure that we have a good deterrent, but we want to make sure that we deter in a way that is not provocative in nature, that will make this escalate, if you will,” Hecker said.

Part of the U.S. and NATO response to Russia’s war with Ukraine has been to increase NATo’s air policing along its eastern flank, and that’s resulted in substantially increased instances of fighters scrambling to meet Russian aircraft near NATO borders. 

But as the war has dragged on for several months, longer than many expected, USAFE and NATO Allied Air Command have adjusted, Hecker said.

“When the invasion first occurred, we had three different [combat air patrols, or CAPS] that we manned 24/7. And that lasted the first couple days until we kind of got a sense for what was going on,” Hecker said. “And then we reduced that down a little bit, but still well above the air policing levels. A lot of times we were just sitting alert. Now we’re actually doing active … CAPs, fully armed with the two-ship fighters from all kinds of different nations.”

Over the past three or four months, Hecker added, NATO has reached a “steady state” in terms of numbers of patrols and hours. Now, as the war continues and the AAC looks to transition once more to an alert but sustainable long-term posture, Hecker said he wants to use a new approach to supplement the enhanced air policing mission.

“We’re trying to get different countries to interact with one another, and we call it Enhanced Vigilance Activities,” Hecker said. “And so we’ll get some aircraft from Poland and Hungary, and they will meet in a certain area, and instead of just doing the combat air patrol with live weapons on, they’ll go out and basically just do training, and exercise and fight against one another and work with one another,” Hecker said.

“So if we do have to do something, we’re interoperable—we’ve worked together in the past. So we’re increasing the number of those kinds of things that we’re doing, which is helping out a lot.”

As Ukrainian Pilot Training Passes House NDAA, Legislators Work to Overcome Roadblocks

As Ukrainian Pilot Training Passes House NDAA, Legislators Work to Overcome Roadblocks

Members of Congress took a big step toward granting Ukraine’s wish to defend its territory from Russia with American F-16s when the House passed an amendment to train Ukrainian pilots, but hurdles remain to overcome fears of escalation with Russia, Air Force veteran Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) told Air Force Magazine.

“I understand the conversation,” Houlahan said by phone July 15, responding to concerns by the Biden administration that providing fighter aircraft could escalate tensions between the United States and Russia.

“But I frankly think that we need to be responsive to the request of the Ukrainian administration and [President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy, and if this is the thing that he and his country are asking for, then we need to be prepared to be able to provide it,” she said. “Some of the ways that we can be supportive might be with a variety of fighter aircraft and training.”

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), an Illinois Air National Guard pilot, offered the amendment to the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act passed July 14. It would authorize $100 million to train Ukrainian pilots and maintainers on American fixed-wing aircraft for air-to-air and air-to-ground combat.

The amendment followed a June bill by Kinzinger and Houlahan that more narrowly called for the same amount of funds to train Ukrainian pilots on platforms such as the F-15, F-16, and Sidewinder missiles.

The Senate version of the NDAA does not have language to fund Ukrainian fighter pilot training, but a reconciliation bill could include the language for a full vote by Congress and the President’s signature.

“This is something that Kinzinger and I, and a variety of others, have been talking to the administration about in various places, either State or DOD or whatever, for about five or six months at this point,” Houlahan said. “This is something that is definitely a conversation that we need to continue to be having between now and when the Senate and House NDAA is reconciled and goes to Congress for approval.”

A staffer in Houlahan’s office told Air Force Magazine that each time the representative has communicated to the Biden administration the need for American combat aircraft and training for Ukraine, the administration has acknowledged the message but does not express clear support. Kinzinger’s office did not respond to requests to comment for this story.

Col. Yuri Ignat, chief spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force Command, told Air Force Magazine on July 13 that even before the Feb. 24 Russian invasion, the Ukrainian Air Force had identified the F-15 and F-16 as platforms it would like to transition to with capabilities far superior to the MiG-29s and Su-27s it now has in its fleet.

“The F-16 has been purposed to fight not only aerial targets but also ground targets, and in the U.S. Air Force, it also is tasked for the suppression of enemy air defenses,” Ignat explained by videoconference from Ukraine’s Air Force headquarters in Vinnytsia, Ukraine.

“Given our current situation, we also need a lot more air-to-ground capabilities,” he added. “This is why we’re in the process of thinking that maybe to win this war, we need some other fighters, not only F-16 but the F-15.”

Ignat said Ukraine seeks a lend/lease program or presidential drawdown authority transfer, whereby President Joe Biden transfers fighter jets from U.S. reserves to Ukraine. The U.S. Air Force is set to retire 48 F-16s this year, a pipeline that could outfit three to four Ukrainian fighter squadrons.

Defense Department spokesperson Lt. Col. Anton T. Semelroth told Air Force Magazine that the Biden administration has provided $8 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, including over 1,400 Stinger anti-aircraft systems, Phoenix Ghost and Puma unmanned aerial systems, and air surveillance radars.

On July 1, the administration announced two National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems to further strengthen air defenses, but a senior defense official told Air Force Magazine on July 8 that delivery of the systems was “several months” away.

“We have nothing new to announce on aviation capabilities at this time,” Semelroth said in a July 15 statement.

Ukraine has said it has more than 30 pilots with English-language skills ready to begin training without impacting its operations. Ignat estimates that his pilots could be trained to fly F-16s in six months.

Houlahan said a conversation about transferring fighter jets to Ukraine is not dissimilar to other Defense Department negotiations with partner nations that may later need to be backfilled.

“I’m not necessarily even saying frankly that this is F-16s,” Houlahan said. “The language of this particular part of the NDAA speaks to aircraft, and it could be something like A-10s, as an example, which are a resource of ours that we have been saying fairly consistently that we need less and less of.”

Houlahan said the legislation is written to give DOD the flexibility to meet Ukraine’s battlefield needs with retired American aircraft.

“I’m not trying to box us into a particular airframe or another. I’m trying to provide an opportunity for us to be able to transfer aircraft and the training that would be necessitated to be effective,” she said. “Nothing happens fast around here, so why not be prepared?”

Air Force Offering Even More Enlistment Bonuses for Certain Career Fields—Here They Are

Air Force Offering Even More Enlistment Bonuses for Certain Career Fields—Here They Are

Facing a tough recruiting environment that Air Force Recruiting Service commander Maj. Gen. Ed Thomas recently likened to a “week-to-week dogfight,” the Air Force has expanded its list of jobs that are eligible for initial enlistment bonuses, hoping to entice more potential Airmen.

All told, 22 Air Force Speciality Codes are now eligible for some sort of enlistment bonus—some for four-year contracts, some for six-year deals, and some for both. 

That marks a dramatic increase from the beginning of fiscal 2022, when just nine AFSCs were on the list. In April, the Air Force added six career fields, followed by more on July 11. The bonuses will be available until Sept. 30, 2022.

Many of the career fields added this week are in maintenance and offer $6,000 for six-year contracts and $3,000 for four-year deals. The speciality codes are:

  • 2A634, Aircraft Fuel Systems
  • 2A636, Aircraft Electrical & Environmental Systems
  • 2F031, Fuels
  • 2M031, Missile & Space Systems Electronic Maintenance
  • 2M032, Missile & Space Systems Maintenance
  • 2M033, Missile & Space Facilities
  • 2T331, Mission Generation Vehicular Equipment Maintenance
  • 2W131, Aircraft Armament Systems

Bigger bonuses ranging from $12,000 to $20,000 are available to those who sign six-year contracts for computer-focused fields including:

  • 1D731A, Network Operations
  • 1D731B, Systems Operations
  • 1D731D, Security Operations
  • 1D731E, Client Systems Operations

The Air Force is also still offering a “Quick Ship” bonus in which an already fully qualified applicant will get $8,000 to fill a short-notice Basic Military Training vacancy and ship out within five days or less. Thus far, AFRS said in a release, 178 recruits have taken advantage of the Quick Ship bonus.

The Air Force’s expansion of enlistment bonuses comes as all the services are experiencing recruiting challenges, a trend that has started to receive widespread media attention. Even as end strength is projected to decline slightly in the year ahead, recruiters are having a hard time convincing the small pool of eligible young adults to sign up.

At the same time, the Air Force has also recently expanded its list of career fields eligible for retention bonuses, a potential sign that the sky-high retention rates seen during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic have started to slip.

That high retention, however, has had lasting effects. The service announced earlier this month that it was expecting lower promotion rates for certain enlisted noncommissioned officer ranks due to high numbers of eligible Airmen and a shift in force grade structures.

AFSCCAREER FIELD6-YEAR BONUS4-YEAR BONUS
1A8X1Airborne Linguist$20,000Not Applicable
1D731ANetwork Operations$12K-$20KNot Applicable
1D731BSystems Operations$12K-$20KNot Applicable
1D731DSecurity Operations$12K-$20KNot Applicable
1D731EClient Systems Operations$12K-$20KNot Applicable
1D731RRadio Frequency Transmission Systems$6,000$3,000
1N3XXCrypto Linguist$18,000Not Applicable
1T0X1SERE$40,000Not Applicable
2A534Refuel/Bomber Aircraft Maintenance$6,000$3,000
2A632Aerospace Ground Equipment$6,000$3,000
2A634Aircraft Fuel Systems$6,000$3,000
2A636Aircraft Electrical & Environmental Systems$6,000$3,000
2F031Fuels$6,000$3,000
2M031Missile & Space Systems Electronic Maintenance$6,000$3,000
2M032Missile & Space Systems Maintenance$6,000$3,000
2M033Missile & Space Facilities$6,000$3,000
2T331Mission Generation Vehicular Equipment Maintenance$6,000$3,000
2W031Munitions Systems$6,000$3,000
2W131Aircraft Armament Systems$6,0003,000
3E8X1EOD$50,000Not Applicable
9T500Special Warfare Operator Enlistment$50,000Not Applicable
9TE/MAIAny Mechanical or Electrical Aptitude Area$6,000$3,000
AFRS QUICK SHIPAny AFSC$8,000$8,000
USAF Announces 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year for 2022

USAF Announces 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year for 2022

A selection board considered 36 nominees representing each of the Air Force’s major commands, direct reporting units, and field operating agencies, along with Headquarters Air Force, selecting the 12 winning Outstanding Airmen of the Year based on “superior leadership, job performance, and personal achievements,” according to a news release.

Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force JoAnne S. Bass first revealed the winners’ names July 12 on Twitter. The winners include:

  • Air Force Special Operations Command: Tech. Sgt. Brandon S. Blake, detachment superintendent and registered respiratory care practitioner, 720th Operations Support Squadron, Birmingham, Ala.
  • U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa: Senior Airman Demarion N. Davis, emissions security manager, 48th Communications Squadron, RAF Lakenheath, England.
  • Air Force Global Strike Command: Senior Airman Monica Figueroa Santos, nuclear command and control operations senior controller, 341st Missile Wing, Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont.
  • Air Force District of Washington: Master Sgt. Kade N. Forrester, infrastructure flight section chief, 11th Contracting Squadron, Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, D.C.
  • Air Combat Command: Senior Master Sgt. Megan A. Harper, operations superintendent, 379th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar.
  • Air Force Reserve Command: Tech. Sgt. Brianne E. Kelleher, command language program manager, 655th Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Group, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio
  • Air Education and Training Command: Tech. Sgt. Alexander W. Messinger, standardization evaluation noncommissioned officer in charge, 802nd Security Forces Squadron, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas.
  • Air Mobility Command: Senior Airman Steven C. Peters, emergency medical technician, 60th Healthcare Operations Squadron, Travis Air Force Base, Calif.
  • Air National Guard: Senior Airman Kristina L. Schneider, fire protection journeyman, 179th Airlift Wing, Mansfield Lahm Air National Guard Base, Ohio.
  • Pacific Air Forces: Senior Airman Caden A. Soper, F-15 avionics journeyman, 18th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Kadena Air Base, Japan.
  • Airman Supporting U.S. Space Force: Senior Airman Christopher T. Thao, network operations technician, 50th Communications Squadron, Schriever Space Force Base, Colo.
  • Air Force Materiel Command: Tech. Sgt. Jennifer G. Thomas, Air Force vehicle fleet manager, 441st Vehicle Support Squadron, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.

The Outstanding Airmen of the Year program debuted at AFA’s 10th annual National Convention in 1956, and the association has continued to shine a spotlight on the outstanding Airmen from each major command every year since.

The Air Force Association will recognize this year’s 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year during its Air, Space & Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Md., in September.

Lawmakers Push for Air Force to Embrace New Immersive Training Tech Even Faster

Lawmakers Push for Air Force to Embrace New Immersive Training Tech Even Faster

In many ways, the Air Force has embraced new technologies such as augmented and virtual reality for the service’s training in recent years like never before—pilots, maintainers, even commanders dealing with suicidal Airmen have started to participate in programs designed to engage them in new ways.

But the service can move even faster and more aggressively to adopt these technologies, advocates say—and lawmakers have agreed, inserting language into the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act that would seek to prod the Air Force’s efforts forward.

In the committee report accompanying its version of the NDAA, the House Armed Services Committee commended the Air Force’s “progress in deploying digital training infrastructure” but expressed concern that the service “may not have sufficient plans in place to integrate digital training infrastructure into its training organizations and commands at a speed that aligns with the pace of software development.”

To address that concern, the report calls for the Secretary of the Air Force to brief Congress by March 2023 on a “service-wide plan to transition digital training infrastructure into the appropriate Air Force organizations as soon as technical readiness will allow.”

Such directive report language is not legally binding like language included in the bill itself, but Pentagon officials typically “regard it as a congressional mandate and respond accordingly,” according to the Congressional Research Service.

In particular, the committee is asking the Secretary to include details on future support and sustainment plans for digital training infrastructure; plans to include immersive tech such as virtual, mixed, and augmented reality; and ways to unify efforts across the Air Force.

Already, Air Education and Training Command uses tech company Dynepic to maintain a platform called MOTAR that keeps track of disparate augmented and virtual reality training programs across the command and maintains a digital training record for individual Airmen.

In running that platform, Dynepic has seen support from lower-level Airmen and high-level leadership who want to embrace that kind of training even more, CEO Krissa Watry told Air Force Magazine. But hurdles persist—bureaucracy, skeptics, and a lack of any single organization to lead the charge in pushing it forward.

“Any time you have new technology, and it’s moving at a rapid pace, you have folks that just aren’t quite up to speed yet,” Watry said. “And so maybe they have their projects and they think they’re the latest and greatest. But one thing with the agile software mindset is you have to be willing to sometimes scrap stuff and move forward with a new way or a new vision. And I think that’s one of the key areas, is you need a flexible infrastructure, stuff that allows for technology to be rapidly tested, fielded, and even swapped out with new stuff.”

Tech companies have frequently bemoaned the Pentagon’s acquisition process, which they say is outdated and moves too slowly for rapidly evolving software, and many smaller companies have fallen into the “Valley of Death,” where new innovative technologies are demonstrated but never become programs of record.

Dynepic wants to help small businesses leveraging VR, AR, and other digital training to cross that valley, Watry said.

The company also wants help organizing a system that at the moment lacks a top-down authority. MOTAR is an Air Education and Training Command requirement, but other Air Force major commands don’t have the same access, even as they conduct operational training, too.

“We’ve tried to be that glue, through our conversations and meetings, to pull in the other operational commands, because all the Airmen want to use it,” Watry said. “But then they’re like, ‘Well, is this an enterprise capability?’ Is this something that—am I having to pay for it on a unit level, which is the way it currently works? Or is this going to be an enterprise solution, and then we have to pay for the custom stuff that our command needs? When you’re talking about ACC and Global Strike and AMC and all those other commands and AFSOC, I guess they’re looking for unity of effort. They would like unity of effort, but they’re still just a single command, and they’re like, who’s in charge?”

Dynepic would like to see a program office set up to oversee and organize such virtual training, Watry said. Looking to push for more coordination, and for faster and more widespread adoption across the board, Dynepic’s leaders met with members of the HASC readiness subcommittee during the NDAA-drafting process to push for directive report language.

“We believe that [training is] highly effective, not only for technical training—your maintenance training, air traffic control, pilot training—but for even just [emotional intelligence]-style training, or a lot of the other areas of use around even just, how can they maybe escape from the environment they’re in and be able to relax better? So there’s a number of different pathways for extended reality to be used in the U.S. military that will make Airmen better. That’s the goal.”

In those meetings, they got positive responses, said consultant Ryan Crumpler, a former HASC staff member.

“When I was on the committee as a professional staffer, this is something that we focused on, which is how to get more training bang for your buck,” Crumpler said. “And the only way to do that is through kind of novel approaches. You just can’t buy enough flight hours or tank miles or full spectrum training miles or whatever your measure of efficacy is. So I think staff and members were receptive.”

It also helps, Crumpler said, that such training could be adapted or adopted from commercial tech companies, an increasing area of emphasis for top lawmakers.

“It nests nicely with the broader push that Congress has made to go more commercial … instead of waiting years and billions of dollars for a bespoke system that’s built through the traditional acquisition process,” Crumpler said.

House Passes 2023 NDAA With Funds For Ukrainian Pilot Training, Protects Sentinel ICBM

House Passes 2023 NDAA With Funds For Ukrainian Pilot Training, Protects Sentinel ICBM

The House of Representatives passed its version of the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act on July 14. The annual policy bill includes a $37 billion increase to the top line of the Pentagon’s budget and a number of provisions that will affect the Air Force and Space Force.

The final bipartisan 329-101 vote capped two days of deliberation on the House floor as lawmakers debated and voted on more than 600 amendments.

While NDAAs set policy and authorize funds, they do not appropriate the money the Defense Department spends. Still, they give Congress oversight of the Pentagon and are regularly considered “must-pass” legislation.

“For over six decades, the NDAA has served the American people as a legislative foundation for national security policymaking rooted in our democratic values,” Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), chair of the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement. “Today’s successful vote marks another chapter in that history—with considerable gains for those currently serving our country in uniform.”

Among the amendments approved as part of the deliberation process was a provision from Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) to authorize $100 million to provide training to Ukrainian pilots and ground crews to become familiarized with American aircraft. Ukrainian pilots and defense officials have pleaded for the U.S. to provide them with aircraft such as the F-16, and while thus far the Biden administration has rejected those calls, Kinzinger’s amendment was agreed to in an uncontroversial voice vote.

Other amendments adopted by voice vote include one from Rep. Cliff Bentz (R-Ore.) that would limit the number of F-15s the Air Force can divest, at least until the service provides a report to Congress on the number of F-15s—including F-15Cs, Ds, Es, and EXs—it plans to buy and retire in the next five years, broken down by year and location, as well as an assessment of the negative impacts of such retirements and plans to replace those missions.

Kinzinger also introduced another amendment that was eventually approved as part of a larger package that prohibits the Air National Guard from retiring the RC-26 Condor, a tactical ISR platform, despite the fact that ANG leaders say it costs millions of dollars to maintain and other, cheaper technologies such as drones can perform the same missions. 

But not all amendments were approved. Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.), a senior member on the House Armed Services Committee, introduced one that would have suspended funding for the LGM-35 Sentinel, the Air Force’s modernization program for its intercontinental ballistic missiles, and instead extend the aging Minuteman III to 2040. That amendment was soundly defeated by a 118-309 vote.

Earlier in the legislative process, the House Armed Services Committee also voted against forcing the Air Force to hold a competition for its so-called “bridge tanker.” One thing the House NDAA would do, however, is force the Air Force to upgrade, not retire, its oldest F-22 fighters, despite the service’s request to divest them.

The NDAA also includes a provision from Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) that would establish a separate Space National Guard, a move that was also approved by the House last year before being left out of the compromise version of the bill crafted with the Senate. This year, however, a bipartisan group of a dozen Senators have already proposed legislation supporting a Space Guard.

Finally, the House NDAA partially addresses the Air Force’s unfunded priorities list by adding $978.5 million to procure four more EC-37B Compass Call electronic warfare aircraft plus nearly  $379 million for weapons system sustainment—shy of the $579 million included in the UPL.

The bill does not, however, add any more F-35As for the Air Force, leaving the service’s much-reduced purchase of 33 fighters unsupplemented.

With the NDAA through the House, the Senate must now pass its version of the bill before legislators from the two chambers can craft a compromise bill in conference to vote on and send to President Joe Biden.

“I am glad to see the FY23 NDAA pass the House with overwhelming bipartisan support. However, our work is not done—we will continue to improve upon this bill in conference to ensure that this legislation gives our warfighters what they need,” said Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), the House Armed Services Committee’s top Republican.

Last year, that process lasted longer than expected. The House passed its version of the bill on Sept. 23, but the Senate struggled to do the same, to the point where leaders from both chambers finally unveiled a compromise bill on Dec. 7, bypassing the usual conference process. That bill cleared both chambers by Dec. 15 and was signed into law shortly thereafter.

Australia, US, UK Seek ‘Seamless’ Defense Industrial Base

Australia, US, UK Seek ‘Seamless’ Defense Industrial Base

Following meetings with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III, Australian defense minister Richard Marles said the two countries and the U.K. are working toward creating a “seamless” mutual defense industrial base to draw on the capabilities of all three countries for future defense systems.

Speaking with defense journalists at the Australian embassy in Washington, D.C., Marles, who is also deputy prime minister, said “the focus of the meetings this week” has been to “to collaborate more closely” on defense procurement; specifically, “artificial intelligence, hypersonics, and counter-hypersonics” as well as the previously announced sale of nuclear attack submarines to Australia by the U.S.

“We are building a technology coalition,” Marles said.

Military collaborations under the previous administration will continue under the new administration in Canberra, Marles said. These include previously announced cooperative efforts in hypersonics research, munitions development, use of Australia’s Woomera test range by the U.S., and Australia’s acquisition of F-35 and F/A-18 fighters, among other programs. Air Force B-2 bombers are deploying to Australia for an exercise.

“We see hypersonics and counter-hypersonics as a critical technology; it’s one of those that we’ve identified in the context of AUKUS,” Marles said, “in terms of sharing the technology … and collaborating more in the future on developing the technologies. So we certainly see this area as a significant priority.”

“It is essential that we are developing those technologies for our respective defense forces,” he added.

He contined that the AUKUS nations are seeking “to move from interoperability to interchangeability” in defense hardware” and that Australia’s aim is “not competing with the U.S. [defense] industrial base, but complementing it.”   

Marles shot down rumors of Australia seeking to buy B-21 bombers once the aircraft has emerged from development and is in production, saying without elaboration that no such discussions have taken place.

“Announcements will be made in the first quarter of 2023” about the specifics of the submarine deal, Marles said, which will also include U.K. participation as well as what Australia will do for submarine capability while it’s waiting for the new boats. The current class of boats will likely be service-extended, but that won’t be the only solution, he said. He suggested that other new AUKUS cooperative defense programs will be announced in early 2023 as well.

Marles said he doesn’t view the “Quad”—Australia, India, Japan, and the United States—as a “Pacific NATO,” as China has accused the countries of creating. The group is “not an alliance, not a security alliance” but instead “four like-minded countries working together” to promote democracy and prosperity in the region, Marles said.

“It’s not for any other country to say who we should work with,” he asserted.

Asked if he expects the group to grow, he said he expects the members will “want to grow what it does … and grow the agenda.” But he noted that one of the first official acts of the new prime minister was “to attend a meeting of the Quad. That’s very much an indication of our commitment to that architecture and the potential we regard for that in the future.”